Wojciech Szczęsny wants to remain at Roma rather than return to Arsenal or join Juventus
KEY POINTS
- Roma president James Pallotta says the goalkeeper has told him he wants to stay.
- Poland international is contracted to the Gunners until 2018.
Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny has told Roma that it is his wish to remain at the club next season, according to president James Pallotta.
Szczęsny is due to return to north London this summer after two successful loan spells with Roma, where he has become the club's undisputed no.1. But with Petr Cech still ruling as the Gunners' first-choice keeper and David Ospina a popular back-up option, a return to Italy could beckon.
Serie A winners and Champions League runners-up Juventus have also emerged as an interested party, with reports in Italy claiming that the Bianconeri have agreed a fee with Arsenal to make the Poland international their long-term replacement for the legendary Gianluigi Buffon.
Szczęsny's agent, David Manasseh, insists that no deal has been reached between the two clubs, with Roma owner Pallotta insisting the goalkeeper's preference is to remain in the Italian capital.
"Is Szczesny leaving? He told me that he wants to stay with us," Pallotta told Sirius XM Radio, as reported by Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio. "I was surprised by the fact that a lot of people thought he would want to leave in the first place. After the final game [of the season against Genoa], he came up to me to explain that he wants to stay."
Szczęsny, who made his senior debut for the Gunners in 2011, is still to sit down with Arsene Wenger for talks over his future, according to Manasseh.
Wenger, who signed a new two-year deal last week, has promised to make "two or three" major signings this summer but for now much of the focus remains on who could leave the club. With Szczęsny's future uncertain, doubts also remain over contract rebels Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil.
The Arsenal boss admitted in a recent interview with beIN Sports that the duo could leave this summer, but only if adequate replacements are brought in.
"You cannot weaken the club and weaken the team," he said. "You want to strengthen the team. Unless you find a player of the same calibre and if they absolutely want to leave."
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